Political Science

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∑ International Politics –

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involving specifically political relations between states – because it incorporates international law, diplomacy, and fundamental issues of war and peace as well as areas not monopolized or dominated by national governments, such as trade, human rights, the environment and health.

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∑ Comparative Politics –

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study of macro-politics of individual states.

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∑ Globalization –

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a process by which state and nation-centered agencies and terms of reference are dissolving in favor of relationships – in communications, commerce, and politics – that are increasingly cross-national.

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∑ Political Culture –

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the broad patterns of values, beliefs, and attitudes in a society toward politics and government.

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∑ Multilateralism –

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generally refers to the practice of coordinating relations between three or more states in pursuit of common goals and in accordance with agreed principles.

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∑ NAFTA

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started with a Free Trade Agreement signed by the USA and Canada in 1987 and it became NAFTA with Mexico’s accession in 1992.

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∑ Constitution –

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a document in which the allocation of authority and functions among governments agencies is stipulated, it is also a statement about the philosophical principles underpinning that arrangement. It is also a contract outlining the rights and obligations between citizens and the state.

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∑ Legislature –

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the branch of government that makes or amends laws

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∑ Parliamentary Government –

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A British system of government, in which supreme legal authority is vested in a parliament of which all elected government officials are members.

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∑ Political Executive –

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In democracies the wing of government comprising the elected executive and the cabinet, headed by the president in a presidential system or the PM in a parliamentary system.

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∑ Representative Government –

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a democracy in which elected officials make decisions with the force of law because they have achieved legitimacy through some form of popular election.

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∑ Trustees –

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a legislative representative who consults personal conscience and judgment regarding what is best for her or her constituency when voting.

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∑ Delegates –

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a member of a legislative assembly who votes according to the preferences of his or her electoral constituency.

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∑ Legitimacy –

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the acknowledgement by its citizens that a government should, or has the right to make decisions for them.

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∑ Executive –

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the administrative authority of the state, refers in presidential systems to the branch of government under the direct authority of the President and in parliamentary systems under the direct authority of the PM and cabinet.

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∑ Partisanship –

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loyalty to a particular party

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∑ Oligarchy –

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“rule by few” in which a small cohesive group control most governing decisions with little or no participation by the general citizenry.

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∑ Public Servants (bureaucrats) –

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tenured state officials involved in advising government and implementing policies.

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∑ Pluralism –

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a condition in which private associations, organizations and groups independent of government compete with each other to influence the laws and actions of the government.

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∑ Constitutionalism –

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arrangement in which everyone, including the government, is subject to the rules of the constitution

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∑ Convention –

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is a custom or which is not necessarily a legal absolute

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∑ Statute law –

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the authoritative rules set out by legislative assemblies at the national or state/provincial level.

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∑ Supreme Court –

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the highest court at a state/provincial or national level, serving primarily an appellate function.

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∑ Bill of Rights –

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the first ten amendments to the constitution of the United States; they constitutionally ensure certain rights and liberties to all American citizens.

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∑ Written Constitution –

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the fundamental state law set down in one or more documents.

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∑ Unwritten Constitution –

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a constitution that consists mainly of custom, convention, or statutes and is not written down in one comprehensive document.

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∑ Charter of Rights and Freedoms –

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A bill of rights entrenched in the Canadian Constitution Act of 1982, guaranteeing fundamental freedoms, mobility rights, legal rights, equality rights, and linguistic rights to all Canadian citizens.

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∑ Due Process –

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the right of every citizen against arbitrary by government.

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∑ Civil Law –

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regulator of relations between or among private individuals and corporations. It is concerned mainly with disputes over property and commercial contracts.

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∑ Rule of Law –

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A guarantee that the state’s actions will be governed by law, with fairness, and without malice. No individual should be above the law, and no one is exempt from it, including the government itself.

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∑ Collective Rights –

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entitlements or duties owed to certain groups by the state.

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∑ Civil Rights –

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legal or moral claims that citizens are entitled to make upon government, such as the right to equal treatment before the law and the right to vote.

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∑ Writ of amparo –

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a form of judicial review in Mexico whereby citizens may sue government officials for violations of their constitutional rights by a government official’s actions or as a result of specific laws.

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∑ Separation of Powers –

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One of the founding principles of the government of the United States, according to which the government’s authority is divided among the legislative, executive and judicial branches, which must cooperate in the formulation of public policy while each branch simultaneously provides a check on the abuse of authority by the other branches.

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∑ Appropriations –

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money approved by the US congress in bills that each unit or agency of government could spend.

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Fusion of Powers –

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a critical feature of parliamentary systems, distinguishing them from presidential systems, whereby the party or coalition holding a majority of seats in parliament forms a government and wields executive power until parliament is dissolved and an election is called. Thus, unlike presidential systems in which the executive and the legislature are elected separately – enjoy independent electoral mandates and can be held by competing parties – parliamentary systems “fuse” the power of the executive and legislative branches by creating a government from the majority party/coalition which controls the legislative agenda of parliament.

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∑ Electoral Systems –

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refers to the means by which votes cast for candidates are translated into legislative seats.

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∑ Unitary System –

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form of government in which the power and authority to govern is centralized in one government.

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∑ Confederation –

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a form of political organization that loosely unites strong provincial units under a weak central government.

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∑ Federation –

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a form of political organization in which the activities of government are divided between regional governments and a central government in such a way the each level of government makes final decisions in its own jurisdiction.

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∑ Residual powers –

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a provision in the Canadian constitution that allows the federal government to intervene in any matter not specifically assigned to the provinces.

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∑ Entrenchment –

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means to embody provisions in a constitution so that they are protected and can be changed only by formal amendment procedures.

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∑ Judicial Review –

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the power of high courts to invalidate the laws or actions of government by declaring them unconstitutional.

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∑ Ultra vires –

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an act that is beyond the jurisdiction of the law or constitutional authority of a government institution.

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∑ Crown –

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a term used in British parliamentary system to refer to the composite symbol of the institutions of the state

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∑ Responsible government –

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the executive ethos of parliamentary systems, according to which the prime minister and cabinet are accountable to parliament and may govern only as long as they retain the “confidence” of the majority of the House of Commons.

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∑ Governor general –

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the representative of the monarch in Canada, appointed by her Majesty on the recommendation of the Canadian prime minister and cabinet.

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∑ Budget –

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a document primarily concerned with setting out where the revenue will come from to carry out the government’s program.

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∑ Supply bill –

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bills that authorize the spending of money by the government in Canada. The Canadian equivalent of appropriations.

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∑ Collective ministerial responsibility –

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a British parliamentary tradition whereby a group of ministers are supposed to be held accountable to Parliament for their government’s actions.

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∑ Back benchers –

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Mps on the government’s side who are not ministers, or on the opposition side who are not designated by parties.

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∑ Caucus –

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the normally closed meeting of a political or legislative group to select candidates or plan strategy.

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∑ Separation of Powers –

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One of the founding principles of the government of the United States, according to which the government’s authority is divided among the legislative, executive and judicial branches, which must cooperate in the formulation of public policy while each branch simultaneously provides a check on the abuse of authority by the other branches.

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∑ Bicameral –

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a legislature composed of two houses

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∑ Speaker of the house –

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chief presiding officer of the US House of Representatives, elected at the beginning of every Congress by straight party vote. The Speaker is therefore the most important House leader, with the authority to shape the legislative agenda and influence the position of individual members in the house.

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∑ Public opinion –

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the sum of individual citizens’ opinions on issues, leaders, institutions and events.

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∑ Filibuster –

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legislative tactic used by opponents of a bill to prevent action on it by holding the floor continuously and speaking until the majority in favor of the bill backs down.

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∑ Time allocation –

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a device to limit debate in a legislature.

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∑ Whips –

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legislators assigned by the party leader to help maintain internal party communication and cohesion, as well as to assist majority and minority leaders in legislative tasks.

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∑ Oversight –

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the collective efforts on the legislature to exercise scrutiny and control over the activities of executive agencies through hearings and investigations.

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∑ Collective action –

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the pooling of resources and talents by a group of individuals in order to coordinate activities for the pursuit of common goals.

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∑ Government bills –

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in a parliamentary system, bills introduced by the cabinet as government policy

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∑ Agenda-stetting –

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the power to bring public attention to specific issues and thereby determine the day-to-day business and long-term policy priorities of an institution or, in the extreme cases, the major policy-making institutions of government.

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∑ Party caucuses –

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group formed by the elected members of each party in a legislative body.

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∑ Ways and Means –

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in Canada a committee of the whole legislature that considers the proposals of the minister of finance. In the US a powerful standing committee of the House of Representatives responsible for tax legalization.

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∑ Coalition government –

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government formed by more than one party.

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Factions –

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a group of people with common interests, often in opposition to the actions or principles of a larger political body to which they belong.

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∑ One-party dominant system –

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electoral party systems in which a single party regularly wins almost every election, even though opposition parties function freely.